Deadly Swans
by justanotherbookaholic
Summary: A Twilight fan-fiction about what would happen if Bella was bit less clumsy... Does NOT follow cannon regarding Bella or after halfway through Twilight. Cover drawn by savingsolemnity. All rights reserved to Stephanie Meyer for all books and characters of the Twilight Saga and to me for my OCs. Certain content taken from Stephanie Meyer's works and, of course, belongs to her.
1. Chapter 1

_"Believe. Dream. Do. Repeat." – Unknown_

"Bella," my mom said to me — the last of a thousand times — before I got on the plane. "You don't have to do this."

"I _want_ to go," I assured her. And I did. Just not for the reasons she thought. Smiling ruefully at her, I pulled her in for one last hug. I was really going to miss her.

"Be careful, okay?" I ordered her through her hair. "Pay the bills, no texting and driving, and _no_extreme sports. Okay? I mean it." I pulled away and looked into her face, trying to convey the need to not be stupid with my eyes.

Renée's laugh sounded in my ears. "I'm good, honey. I can take care of myself. And I have Phil. But _you_promise me you'll call me if you need my come home. Anytime. And write. I'll be checking my email when I get home…" she warned.

I rolled my eyes. "Breathe, Mom," I reminded her. "I'm just a phone call away." I pulled away, looking back toward the plane. "Love you, Mom," I told her, but when I let myself slip from her arms and walked away, I didn't look back.

The plane ride went by fast. Four hours seemed like nothing. I was hyped up on adrenaline, barely able to keep from flinging myself off the plane when we touched down.

There was a light drizzle and I threw my head back, soaking it in. _This_ is what I need. The conditions are perfect. And I happen to know that Forks holds _exactly_ what I need.

I noticed Charlie at the fringe of the doors, taking refuge in the tiny airports scarce shadows, away from the cameras' gaze. I sighed. I knew the car ride to his house would be awkward. I made toward him in large movements, making sure he knew I was coming. He didn't look happy.

Charlie played nice for Renée, but he didn't want me in Forks. And with good reason, but Charlie hardly ever gets his way when I'm involved. It's not like we hate each other. Far from it; he just doesn't want me to interfere with his work.

Still. It's nice to keep up the charade.

I ran up and hugged him hard enough to leave bruises. "Dad, it's so good to see you!" As the shock of this physical contact registered with Charlie, I quickly checked him for weapons. Clean.

He pushed me away from as if to look at me better. I knew better. He just became aware of my pat-down. "It's good to see you, Bells," he said, smiling, but only barely. "You haven't changed much. How's Renée?"

"Great," I said airily, but as we turned away from the security cameras and toward the doors, I muttered, "Still oblivious. But I'm surprised at you. You should keep something on you. Just in case."

He grimaced at me. "Well, it's good Renée is in the dark," he muttered distractedly, herding me to the car door. Oh, good Lord he brought the cruiser.

"We can't have your mother know about the family business," he reminded me. At his description of what we do, I snorted. "It's too dangerous for her," he finished sternly, in reaction to my scoff. I could tell he was getting ready to lecture. I opened the car door, putting it between us as I reassured him. "I got it, I got it. 'Don't ever, ever, _ever_ tip off mom about our job.'"

I slid into the passenger side and slipped on my seatbelt. I sighed really loudly, mostly out of boredom, but I guess it was a bit too loud for Charlie. He frowned at me. "What's wrong?" he asked hesitantly. Even though we were vampire hunters, Charlie was such a girl about being a dad. I decided to play with him.

"It's the weather," I gestured impatiently at the window. "It'll wreck my hair." I grimaced at the rain, as if it would take the hint and get lost. Charlie's frown grew deeper. "Since when did you become such a girl?" he demanded.

"Probably when I joined the cheer squad," I reasoned. I watched his eyes bulge out of his head with deep satisfaction. He eventually composed himself enough roll his eyes at me. I laughed. He drove.

The drive over to Forks was awkward, but I managed to deflect his prying questions with monosyllabic answers. I was here on a mission, whether either of us liked it or not. I couldn't afford to have him hinder my plans. When we got to Charlie's quaint little house, I tried to fling myself up with something vague about a shower, but Charlie caught me before I could escape.

"Bella," he started with a steady hand on my elbow. I looked pointedly at it and after a deep sigh, he let go. I love him, but he knows I don't like being touched. "Bella, I have the situation under control. I don't need you down here. I'm working with the Quileutes. They're a bit hesitant to attack, but with a little persuasion…" he trailed off feebly at the skeptic look on my face.

"For two years, Dad? Really? It was only a matter of time before they stepped in. I was only sent here because it would be less conspicuous. They assigned me here – "

"Bella –" he protested.

" - And we both know," I continued loudly, "That once the Vatican gets involved, nothing can be done." After a short silence, I continued, a bit gruffly, "Not like it mattered. I was coming up to bail you out sooner or later. I wasn't about to leave you without backup; there's not another hunter within three states on all sides." We both looked away. Charlie and I weren't really big on emotions.

"Well…thanks, Bells. And you're right. I do need a bit of help. You're dad's getting a bit old," he raised an eyebrow and hefted his gut. I laughed, but I wasn't deceived. Man could move faster than Renée at a half-off designer shoe sale.

It was quiet as we got my bags from the trunk and moved them upstairs. I was about to get my bathroom-bag and head over to take a shower, but Charlie blocked me again. I sighed.

"Dad, I've been in-transit for most of the day. I _need_ to use a bathroom." This much was true. That shower was starting to sound really good right about now.

"I know, I know, Bells. It's just – well, I kind of wanted – it's in the – oh, just come downstairs." Mystified, I trailed after him. Charlie didn't say much, but he wasn't one to ramble either. So I had no idea what to expect as I followed him past the slightly cramped kitchen to the living room.

Charlie moved the little wooden coffee table over to the side and opened the nearly invisible trap door set into the floor. A staircase led down. I padded down the familiar steps a foot behind Charlie; I've been down these stairs countless times all throughout my childhood.

The room I walked into looked like a medieval weapons room. In all actuality, it was; Charlie had said vampire hunting was a family business, and it was. A _very_ old one, in fact. The Swans have been killing vampires for the last five-odd centuries. The dark brick was lined with what looked like a timeline of old weapons. Crossbows, daggers, long swords, muskets with bayonets, old rifles and machine guns were mounted the walls– family heirlooms of sorts, but all completely operational. Some new additions populated cabinets that took up most of the floor space – revolvers, glocks, assault rifles, etc. – all restored to kill vampires. A large space across the floor was devoted to sparring.

Charlie moved through the area with ease of familiarity, as did I. I used to spend most of my summers in Forks until I was thirteen and my schooling was considered complete by the Vatican. Renée thought it was just father-daughter bonding, but I'd go with something more along the lines of training.

Eventually, we reached the far wall. When Charlie lifted a set of twin daggers, I gasped, my brain shutting down and refusing to process any following information. Gingerly handling them, Charlie turned and faced me a slow blush creeping into his cheeks.

"So, I know you've had your eyes on these for a while, and I wanted to give them to you. As a homecoming present. So here." He tried to put them in my hands, but I just stared. Charlie always was good with understatements, but I never imagined he'd take it this far.

I've wanted those knives since I knew how to notch an arrow (so, basically four). Every glance I threw at those gleaming blades over the years had me practically salivating. I'm actually not sure what it was that attracted me to it. But the thought that I was _this close_ to getting them...

Unless.

"Charlie." I squinted at him and he squirmed. "Why does this feel like a bribe?" He sighed, not even trying to lie, knowing it was useless. "Because it is. I won't interfere with whatever you're planning. I'll even, help if you want me to. But I had to try, honey." He looked into my eyes and away, embarrassed. I was feeling a fair amount of embarrassment myself.

"I can't have you dying on me," he coughed. "Too much paperwork." I smiled my blushing father.

"Look at you today, all full of passionate declarations," I said, play punching him on the arm. "Makes a girl feel loved," I told him, one eyebrow raised. Charlie started stuttering objections, but I just laughed and hugged him hard, making sure the knives were out of the way first.

"Dad. Thank you." I pulled away and glanced at his hands. "But…can I still have the knives?" I stole another look down at the hand that gripped the daggers, biting my lip. Man, I really wanted them.

He judged my expression for a second then looked at the blades for another. No. No way.

He thrust them at me, hilt first. "Take 'em. You're probably going to need them." When he saw me just staring at him, he gently pried open my fists and closed my fingers around the hilts. Pushing me onto the mat, he turned to the stairs.

"Why don't you try them out?" he called over his shoulder. A second later the door slammed shut.

Dear Lord, I loved that man.

I stared at the daggers in my hand. There were very few things that could kill a vampire. Another vampire, the teeth of a werewolf. I suppose an atomic bomb would do the job. In the past, when people were aware of vampires and the Vatican killed them in the open, hunters had the tradition of taking the ashes of fallen vampires and using them to forge weapons. They were used in armor, weapons, and shields and this made them virtually indestructible. These knives were of the old making; it was pure white and it's wickedly curved blades allowed for quick cutting through bone and sinew.

I switched my grip on hilt, slicing the air in wide arcs. Switching again and slicing, switching and slicing, my movements growing faster and faster until the air was humming. Flinging myself into the air, I twisted and writhed, slinking and jumping at imaginary enemies.

_This is so awesome_, I thought. Not only because I now owned just about the awesome-ist piece of weaponry ever, but because it was surprisingly easy to use. Usually it takes an hour or so to be completely comfortable with a weapon I've never used. But these blades were weighted perfectly, each movement fluid, a natural extension of my body.

I paused my exercise in a crouched position, panting slightly. I straightened, walking back to the wall to and slide the knives back into their sheaths.

Quickly walking the two flights to my room and grabbed my toiletries bag. Once I had a quick shower, I collapsed on the bed, wanting my full eight hours. After all, school was tomorrow. Even on the verge of sleep, I smiled at the thought.


	2. Chapter 2

_"Nothing easy is worth doing." – Unknown_

When I woke up early the next morning and you couldn't see the sky. _When the sun is away, the vamps will play._

Slightly pleased with myself at my simple wordplay, I quickly showered and changed. Charlie was already downstairs, munching on cereal. Though cereal isn't really that big a deal, it suddenly struck me that Charlie didn't know how to cook. Well, living with Renée taught me, if nothing, how run a house.

Pulling down a box myself, I was hit with another realization; I didn't have a ride to school. Whacking my forehead with my hand, I turned to Charlie about to ask for the ride that I really didn't want.

"Dad, this is so stupid of me, I just realized –"

"That you don't have a way to get to school?" He smirked at my dumbstruck expression. "Yeah, I was wondering when you'd figure that one out. Why don't you take a look outside?" He smiled into his coffee.

Suspicious, I peeked through the window next to the door and froze.

"Where did you get that?" I asked. Charlie chuckled and walked over to where I was standing. "Billy Black. You remember Billy right? Down at the reservation? Well he's in a wheelchair now and he won't be able to use it anyhow, so he sold it to me cheap." He paused when I didn't respond. "Don't you like it?" he asked sheepishly.

'It', of course was a car. An old 1953 Chevy pickup, to be exact; it had a faded red exterior with rounded fenders and an unyielding iron frame - the kind that could go head to head with a bulldozer and win. "It's mine?" I asked, spinning around to face him.

He nodded once, eyeing me like he was wondering if I was going to explode or teas him. "An early birthday present of sorts. I know it's kind of old, but if you don't want it…" Not waiting for him to finish, I jumped on him in a hug.

"Thanks, Dad!" I said, sounding exactly as surprised as I was. Which was a lot, considering how much I've been hugging Charlie lately. Plus, I really did like the car. Clearing my throat, I pulled away. "If this is another bribe, it won't convince me. But I'll certainly take it"." I warned him.

"Nah," Charlie said, sipping his coffee. "The daggers were a bribe. This is a birthday present. I'm hurt you can't tell the difference." He faked a wound and stumbled back his cereal.

I rolled my eyes and moved back to my own bowl. I plopped down across from him at the table and tucked in, even though cheerios aren't really proper sustenance.

"So," Charlie began. I raised my eyebrows. Was it just me, or was Charlie talking more and more lately? "What's your plan? With the Cullens?" I didn't respond right away, knowing he wouldn't like the answer. "Dad," I complained. "I'm eating. Can this wait?" I shoved another spoonful in my mouth, as if to illustrate my point.

"No, it can't," he frowned at me. "You're going to school in a couple minutes and I need to know how you want to attack this. In case something goes wrong."

I swallowed thickly. "You know, it seems almost inappropriate to talk about vampire hunting in such a cheery kitchen." I gestured around with my spoon at the cheerful yellow cabinets, obviously the work of my mother. "You should read the atmosphere," I advised him sagely, popping more cheerios into my mouth.

Charlie squinted at me in disbelief. "Isabella Marie Swan, don't you dare tell me that I enrolled you in a school with not one, not two, but five vampires in attendance purely because you were dispatched to kill them and you have no plan?!"

As Charlie tried to calm the red in his face, I put down my spoon, trying to make sure I heard him correctly. "Five vampires?" I paused for a second and then gave him a hard look.

"You've had five vampires in your backyard and you didn't give me so much as a call?" My voice was quiet and left no room for argument.

"Well," he started weakly, not sounding nearly as angry as he did before. "Yeah. Didn't you get briefed?"

"No," I muttered, gazing out into the window. "I'd only just came back and started working Arizona for a couple months when I'd been called up. I got a file from Walker on the plane, but I just thought it was a coven of three. It listed no other members."

I turned my eyes back to Charlie. "Okay," I said rubbing my temples. "The only intel I received was about the Quileutes, that there is an oracle, a mind reader, one that influences emotions, where they live, and that they attend Forks High School. What else don't I know?"

"There're are five vampires. From what it sounds like, you know of the gifted ones," Charlie began. "Their names, if they're real, are Alice Cullen, the oracle; Edward Cullen, the mind reader; and Jasper Hale, the emotions one. They all go to Forks High School along with Emmett Cullen and Rosalie Hale. The last two have no powers that we know of. Then there are their 'parents', Carlisle Cullen – he's the leader and a doctor at the county hospital – and Esme Cullen. Their story is that they adopted all of them; they both look too young to have had them on their own. The two with the last name Hale are cousins of Esme."

I stared at Charlie. Walker somehow missed all of that in my file? "How have you not acted already? Aren't they killing everyone in a hundred mile radius?" I appraised Charlie, trying to tell if he had gotten in a fight and I just hadn't noticed.

"No," he answered. "That's what's weird, it's almost like they don't crave blood. The Quileutes know, but they won't say. Said it's part of their treaty and they can't break it without risking themselves." Charlie rolled his eyes.

"And I assume you didn't learn all that from the Vatican," I replied, forehead creasing.

"Nope. I was here before they arrived, Bells," he pointed out around his last bite of cereal.

"Now," he began, getting up and grabbing his gear from the hook. "I think we should take this slow, given the situation, and that we should hold off on school for now."

"What are you talking about?" Charlie could make as much sense as crochet sometimes. "Going to school is the best thing I could do right now. The majority of the vampires are going to be there which means it's the fastest way I can figure out why I was supposed to go after them in the first place, short of just calling Walker." Which was impossible.

Charlie glowered at me, but he realized after a few moments that I wouldn't budge. He stomped over to his gear. After a pause, he turned around to face me. "Don't make me regret not sending you right back to Phoenix."

"Love you, too," I called as the door slammed shut.

I rose and washed out my cereal bowl. Walking over to the living room, I moved the side table, wound my down to the weapons room. I ambled through the shelves, wondering how much ammo I should bring.

Well, I thought, this is the first day. We should pack lightly. I took my new knives off their mounting and shoved them, sheath and all, down the sides of my boots. I picked up two magnums off of a shelf - along with some extra magazines packed with vampire teeth for bullets in the hidden lining of my leather jacket– and shoved those down the back of my jeans. The jacket would keep their shape from popping through my shirt.

I walked back up the stairs and shut the trapdoor, moving the table back into place. Trudging back up the stairs, I rooted around my room for my weapons suitcase. It wasn't that I was particularly messy; there weren't even very many places for one to lose something in my room. Sometimes it just took a second to look through the various possible hiding spots.

Most of the room lay untouched from my childhood; the four-poster bed tucked into a corner; the desk with new phone line and computer in the opposite one and a window overlooking it; a rocking chair in a third corner (wow, was there anything not pushed into a corner?); and a closet above the bed. I found the chrome container and popped open the clasps. This baby was a joy getting through customs.

Inside was a belt, which I slid on. I grabbed my messenger bag off of the desk chair and three more daggers went in there, along with various school supplies. Yeah, Bella, I thought sarcastically. You're as light as a feather.

Bounding down the stairs, I grabbed my umbrella and keys, threw my hair into a ponytail, and walked into the rain.

"I'm Bella. Isabella Swan? I'm transferring to Forks High today?" I flashed a brilliant smile. It couldn't hurt to charm the locals.

"Oh, of course!" So I was expected. Charlie could gossip like an old woman if he wanted to.

"Here's your schedule and a map of the school." She passed me the papers over the giant stacks of forms on her counter. "Would you like me to highlight the way to your classes?" she offered hopefully.

"I think I can figure it out," I assured her. I wanted to see if I could spot any of the vamps before class started. She gave me a bunch of slips that each teacher had to sign and I had to bring back at the end of the day. Oh, high school. I've really missed you.

I walked out of the office and into the rain. I knew Forks High School was small, but it wasn't even one continuous building; it was comprised of several structures used as classrooms, a cafeteria, etc. Walkways linked them together. On the fringes of the parking lots crept the forest, murky even in daylight.

_Come out, come out, wherever you are._

Plenty of students were walking about, some staring at me by their cars, others underneath the shelter of classroom roofs, stealing glances and whispering as they passed by me. I took a second to sigh. That was going to get really old really fast.

And then there they were. What them being obscenely beautiful and all, they weren't exactly hard to find. They moved together down the parking lot, coming, I could see now, from the shiny Volvo. It was the nicest car in the lot. Figures. If there was anything I liked about vampires, it was that they were easy to spot.

There were three male and two female. The girls looked nothing alike; one was tall, blonde and beautiful in the extreme, something you'd only expect to see on film. The other was a slight, tiny creature with stylish, spiky black hair. I recognized Alice Cullen from her file and assumed the other must be Rosalie Hale.

The boys were also different. One was ripped with curly off-black hair; another was leaner and blonde, almost as tall as the giant. The only one I couldn't identify was the giant, Emmett Cullen, I guessed. Jasper Hale, the blonde one, I'd have to be careful of. My emotions had to seem ordinary.

The last one seemed even more distant than the rest. He had a shock of bronze hair and looked the most likely to be in high school than the rest, who looked at least college age. Edward Cullen.

_So that's the mind reader,_ I thought. I wasn't overly concerned about him listening to my thoughts and finding out about me being a vampire hunter. I'd worked with mind readers before, and I knew he couldn't reach my mind. It's part of the reason I was always called down on infiltration missions.

After another second, they peeled away from their group one by one and headed to their own respective classrooms.

I glanced at my schedule. What was my first class anyway? English Lit. This deserved another eye roll; I could do English Lit. in my sleep. I sighed and hiked my bag higher on my shoulder. This was going to be a long day.


	3. Chapter 3

_"If 'Plan A' didn't work, there are 25 other letters in the alphabet. Stay cool." – Unknown_

The first couple hours of school passed slowly in a blur of faces and old learning material. English, Trig, Spanish. It took me back to the days of nuns and rulers. But it was no time to reminisce, I reminded myself. I was going to be in this town for a while and I had to pay attention to the other kids around me if I didn't want to arouse suspicion. I need to blend.

I snapped my focus back to my babbling new friend, a short little brunette gushing away at, well, at everything. Jessica. She was in my Trig and Spanish classes. I smiled and replied to her chatter about teachers and students. A gossip. Say what you want about them, but they're useful.

We grabbed our trays and sat with several of her friends. They all smiled and asked me questions and I responded in kind. Somebody laughed at what I said. Weird. I didn't remember telling a joke.

I was about to address this when I had looked up and saw the Cullens congregated at a far table. _Well, Jessica,_ I thought, _Time for you to be useful._

"Who are they?" I asked, my voice full of awe and surprise. A rush of happiness ran through me. My acting skills remained intact after all the years of neglect in the South. Finally, a job that could put them to the test. _Keep your emotions in check too, Bella,_ I thought, internally turning back to Jessica, _or this Jasper might notice my outsides don't match my insides._ No vampire could touch my mind, but my body – and my emotions – was fair game.

As I was thinking this, the small, demure girl had gotten up and dumped her untouched food. _Such a waste,_ I couldn't help thinking. I knew all their other trays of food would suffer a similar fate.

"That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen; they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife," She informed me after a quick glance. I waited for her to go on. I wanted to know how the locals reacted to the vamps. I was also surprised that they didn't get more attention; in the parking lot no one had spared them a glance. They had chosen to stare instead at me.

Jessica didn't disappoint. "They're all sooooo good looking!" So the town was aware of the obvious. I was starting to think they were oblivious to everything that marked a vampire. "They're all together though – Emmett and Rosalie, and Jasper and Alice, I mean. And they live together!" she said with meaning.

I faintly heard a voice from the other end of the room that caught my attention, but I could barely make it out. "Jessica Stanley is giving the new Swan girl all the dirty laundry on the Cullen clan." It was the mind reader. Edward. I allowed myself a small smile, confident he didn't know I could hear him. If he did he wouldn't be pretending he wasn't talking to his beefy brother. He probably wouldn't be talking at all.

"Rather unimaginative, actually. Just the barest hint of a scandal. Not an ounce of horror. I'm a little disappointed." _Is he talking to himself?_ I thought, confused._ Or answering a thought?_ I listened harder, really putting effort into it now.

"What about the other one? Edward you said?" I glanced back over to their table to find the said vampire staring right at me. A flicker of surprise ran through me. I didn't think he'd be so bold, especially when none of the vampires seemed to be interested in anyone or thing at all; it would break the delicate façade they have going on. I raised my head fractionally and stared right back; I've never been one to back down. Jessica giggled and looked at the table, embarrassed. She continued in a half-whisper, trying to look discreet.

"He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him," she sniffed, a bit miffed I'd say. The mind reader took a break in his brooding to crack a smile at Jessica's words. I couldn't help doing the same. But soon enough, he was back to his staring, looking increasingly more frustrated.

And I imagined he would be, considering he was probably getting radio static from me. After the slightest of frowns tugged at his face, he and the rest of his coven glided out of the room.

For the rest of lunch I talked and laughed with Jessica's friends, keeping up my façade. A shy girl who hadn't talked much during lunch, Angela, asked if I'd want to go to Biology with her. I took in her tall frame, brown waves, pale skin and grinned at her. I'm not sure why, but shy people brought out a protective instinct in me normally reserved for babies and small animals.

"Sure," I answered her.

When we got to the science room, I went to talk to the teacher and Angela walked to her seat. After I handed Mr. Banner my slip I looked out into the class. The black tops of the desks paired the students into partners. There was only one seat open and a bronze head of hair was taking up the one side. His eyes saw me standing there and made room for me. Vampire lab partners. Gotta love 'em.

I turned the aisle that would bring me to my seat. Then things started happening very fast.

I stepped forward which put me in the path of a blowing fan. In a split second, the vampire seized up like he had touched a live wire. I froze too, not knowing why he had done so, but knowing from experience that it couldn't be good. Half a heartbeat after that I was walking very fast down the aisle, determined to put myself between whatever vampire urges he was feeling and the rest of the civilian population.

I plopped down in my seat, dropped my bag to the floor, turned around to face him with my arms crossed and gave him a death glare. Seeing that he had already beaten me to the punch and was looking at me like I was the catalyst to the apocalypse, I faltered for a second.

No. I was not about to let this vampire get the better of me, in staring contests, Biology class, or by letting him kill the innocent people of Forks. Lifting my chin, I dared him, just dared him to try anything.

_Why was he acting this way, anyway?_ I wondered. _He seemed perfectly human a second ago…until I had stepped in front of the fan._

_No. No way._ My thoughts raced at the possibilities. Before I jumped to any conclusions, had to make sure of my theory.

Slowly, I raised my hand to my ponytail and pulled down my hair, letting it fall around my face. Instantaneously his muscles tensed up as if he was getting electrocuted, and he looked as if he would have gladly ripped out my throat. I smiled grimly, knowing that was probably the case.

Well that settled that; I was his siren. In training they explained to us that though all vampires were insanely attracted to human blood, there were some human's who just smelled better to a particular vampire. The need to feed would be almost impossible to deny. It was a rare occurrence, but it happen every couple of centuries to vampires. These humans were called sirens. They almost always died.

_Now how can I work this to my advantage and keep him from killing everyone in the room?_ I gauged his expression and became aware of the fact that he was fighting it. If he wasn't he would have already tried to kill me by now. Wow._ Well,_ I thought, _Just because he's fighting it, doesn't mean he'll win._

And with that thought I sat just as rigidly as him all hour, waiting and watching through the corner of my eye. On more than one occasion my hand strayed toward my boot. Once, I saw him pulverize the edge of the table, as if he were trying to keep his seat. I made sure he didn't see me notice that.

When the bell rang he was up and out the door before anyone else had moved. Tension rolled out of my body and I slowly got up and walked to the door. I vaguely contemplated that I had no idea what the lesson was on.

So it was understandable, in my fog of stress and relief that when I felt a hand on my arm, I kind of freaked out. And by freaked out, I mean I seized and half crushed the wrist of Mike Newton.

"Oh!" I blurted, releasing his arm. "Oh, my God, I'm so sorry, are you okay?" He somehow managed to smile and wince at the same time, and I had to give him credit for that.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." He brushed off my anxious, hovering hands. "I'd be a little jumpy too, if I had Edward Cullen glaring at me all hour." So it was that obvious, huh? "I'm Mike, by the way," he informed me as we started walking. But no matter how he played it off, I saw him wincing behind my back when he thought I couldn't see him. Oops.

Turns out Mike was easy to talk to, if not a bit overly friendly, and I relaxed all the way to the gym, where – surprise, surprise – we had the same class. Weren't small schools just full of bombshells?

"So did you stab Edward Cullen with a pencil, or something?" Mike wondered, commenting again on his earlier remark.

"Dunno. I never even spoke to the guy." I decided to play dumb. No one needed to think we were related. Being a siren was defiantly not going to help me keep a low profile. "You said his name was Edward?"

"Yeah. I wouldn't worry about it, though. He's kind of…weird," he assured me. Ah, so the kids did notice something was up, at least subconsciously.

"Thanks," I said, smiling. After another minute of chatting we both went into our respective locker rooms to change for gym.

At first the coach hand said I could sit out if I wanted since it was my first day. I refused; I needed to do something physical or I was going to explode. Classrooms weren't my strong point.

Doing up my hair again, I agreed to be on Mike's team, not really caring either way. It wasn't until someone handed me a volleyball that I had even realized what I was playing. That didn't really matter either.

For four games, I dominated. When I slammed the ball into the opposing team's court, I felt vibrations in the floor. Maybe I should let up a little, I deliberated. Just to give them a fighting chance. I didn't. It was too good a physical outlet for my earlier stresses to let go by.

By the time Mike had walked me out to the front office, he couldn't stop glowing about my wins. Well, he could certainly make a girl feel good. We said goodbye as I walked through the door to turn back in my slips.

And there he was. Talking to the secretary, apparently trying to get out of sixth hour biology to any other hour. I was stunned._ Why?_ I thought. _Why go through so much to not kill?_

As if to answering my thoughts – and it was so instantaneous I had to remind myself that he couldn't – he turned around and glared at me like he couldn't believe I was here either.

Hastily excusing himself, he ran past me, through the door, and out into the drizzle. Pasting on a smile, I approached the receptionist and made small talk with the woman who almost died over me.


	4. Chapter 4

_"If you want to learn to swim, jump into the water." – Bruce Lee_

It was immediately apparent that he ran.

Blondie was driving a flashy red convertible with the rest of the high school coven. All except one. I could see no bronze hair among the throng of male students that surrounded Rosalie to gawk and admire.

This was a major, disgustingly huge relief. Sitting in my cab with my notes and files spread all around me while I waited for an hour until the coven got to school, to find that I wouldn't have to be constantly on guard to defend my immediate life and those around me even more than I already would have? Yeah. That was something to celebrate. Plus, now I didn't feel as bad about keeping the whole siren thing from Charlie. God knows he didn't need any more stress as it was.

Relief was short lived, however, as I wondered why he left in the first place. Honestly, there was no question – he left because I was his siren. But _why? _They obviously cared about blending, to an extent. Lunch isolation aside, no one in town suspected them of being anything other than beautiful or odd, and that _had_ to be their choice. Killing me openly – killing any number of people, even over a period of time – would utterly destroy that illusion. So he left. The only question left, really, was why that illusion mattered and how they managed to attain it for so long, given the nature of vampires.

I wandered from the truck after carefully stowing away my papers, lost in thought – or so I appeared anyway. I've known and seen too much not to be observing my surroundings at all times. So to appear halfway normal, I feigned surprise when Mike stepped into my path.

He seemed pleased to find me on my own and I felt a sense of foreboding at this. We chatted while we walked and halfway to English Lit., we crossed paths with Eric, looking a little spitefully at Mike, panting hard.

"What's up, Eric?" I asked as he fell into line with us.

"Car…couldn't find my keys…in the parking lot…took some time…" Mike smirked.

"Oh, sucks," I muttered. That sense of foreboding I felt before turned into a downright chill. Especially when I spied Tyler Crowley jogging over to us. Even more so after this caught the attention of Lauren, a very stuck up girl, and her posse, Jessica included.

Thankfully, mercifully, I saw Angela walk by, assess the situation, and roll her eyes. _Well,_ I thought hiking my bag a bit higher on my shoulder. _At least one person would let me sit next to them during lunch. _

I found myself suddenly thinking that being a siren might be a welcome distraction after all.

A solid week passed by without a word from the mindreading vampire. I was far from laid back though; recon on the coven's den and their movements at school, strategy meetings with Charlie, and weapons practice kept me busy, not to mention normal things like keeping the house clean, cooking, homework (or at least what passed for it nowadays), overly friendly boys, nasty girls, and making sure _I_ didn't seem like an outsider – it was a lot of work for a girl to handle.

Still, during my few moments of peace, I knew things were moving too slowly. It seemed help from fellow hunters was nixed and with all the misinformation I got from Walker, I wasn't sure I wanted any. I decided to take drastic measures; it was time to go to the Quileutes. They had some sort of treaty with the vamps and I wanted in on what it was.

It was the next Monday, the start of my second week at Forks. Immediately after I pulled into the school lot I knew something was different.

The Volvo was here.

It was parked innocently, not five cars away, as if last Monday had never happened. Instantly, I was moving through the throng of students, returning waves and greetings to appear less conspicuous. I had all of the coven's class schedules memorized, but I had to know exactly where, bronze-hair especially.

I started with Bronze's first hour. I had a feeling he'd be the center of attention in his coven today. Sure enough, the five of them had congregated in front of the Trig room, occasionally causing kids to trip as they stared. I was about to turn and go now that I knew their position, but a thought struck me.

We were relatively alone. I could test out his reaction to me right here and now, before we met in Biology with a whole room of kids in the crossfire. So, making sure none of my gear was discernible, I walked briskly to Mr. Varner's room, passing the lot of them on the way.

The Seer had been surreptitiously glancing over since before I started moving towards them. Seeing the future? Bronze stiffened as I walked by and the rest painfully tried to look normal; despite their gifts it seemed they weren't expecting me.

Suspicion rose in me. Did they send away Bronze to lull me into a false sense of security? Did they intend to make a move today, now that he was back? Later? Did it really matter, in the end? I was almost positive that sooner or later they would try to get rid of me away from the public eye, unless Bronze slipped up. They'd want make it seem like they weren't involved at all to the community, so they'd want to do it in a more secluded place than right in front of Mr. Varner; I wasn't terribly worried regardless, seeing as I planned to do something similar eventually.

"Bella," Mr. Varner called as I passed through the threshold of the classroom. "I'm not expecting you until third hour," he hinted.

I moved quickly to a bin in the corner. Lost and found. Picking something at random, I answered, "Just realized I left behind Friday." I looked down at my hand. A Hello Kitty day planner. Great.

Hurriedly stuffing it in my bag, I called "See you, Mr. Varner!" and ducked out again.

A few steps outside told me that the coven had gone. _Run, run, run, as fast as you can…._

I slowly walked to English, a smile creeping up on me. For the first time in Forks, I finally, _finally _felt like I was hunting.

It started snowing after English.

"Yes!" Mike exclaimed, punching the and immediately jumping into plans of a snowball fight after lunch.

I rolled my eyes and kept walking to Government, knowing that Mike would follow. And Eric. And Tyler. And a few others would get drawn along whom, if I was completely honest with myself, I didn't know the names of. After a second I heard their trotting feet, and a little shoving, behind me.

Although the Forks boys were friendly enough, it did make my fellow females slightly less accommodating. They still stuck around though, drawn to the guys around me like flies. Angela was pleasant as ever, but I swear if Lauren and her ilk so much as _breathed_ one more snide comment…

On the way to class, it seemed that more snowballs than normal found their way to us; it looked like my performance in volleyball had made me a target. The boys just reveled in it, throwing snowballs at each other as well as our pursuers. I simply led the bunch to class, deflecting snowballs with my bag all the way.


	5. Chapter 5

_"Expect the bullshit, but never accept it." – Unknown_

Lunch came quickly and I had an appetite growing at a rate to match. Lauren gave me a disgusted look at the mountain of food on my plate. As I loaded my plate with hot dogs, biscuits and butter, mash potatoes, corn, ice cream, and a quesadilla. After a moment's thought I grabbed two water bottles then turned to pay.

"God, this isn't an eat-yourself-unconscious contest," Lauren muttered as she sat down. "But if it was…I think we'd know who would win." Jessica giggled.

But I didn't have ears for either of them. I was straining to hear across the room, though my eyes were looking at my tablemates.

"Ease up, Edward. Honestly," the big one – Emmett – murmured. "So you kill one human. It's hardly the end of the world."

Ah, there it is again, the concern for human life emanating from Bronze. His companion noticed it enough to try and soothe it out of him. I did note, however, Mr. Muscle's carefree reference to death. I'd remember it. I was also just as confident as last time that they didn't know they had an audience.

"You would know," Bronze whispered back, tension in his voice.

Muscles chuckled. "You've got to learn to get over things. Like I do. Eternity is a long time to wallow in guilt."

Bronze grumbled at that and they all went back to picking at their food.

I snapped my attention back to my table and initiated the first phase of my plan.

"Hey," I exclaimed interrupting whatever it was they were talking about. "I heard the weathers going to be real nice this weekend. We should go down to La Push," I suggested.

Mike had an excited gleam to his eyes, but before he could agree, Lauren cut across him, "Are you blind, Swan? It's snowing." She smirked. "I doubt it's going to be _nice_ this weekend."

Mike interrupted, "I was going to say the same thing Bella – La Push is awesome – but how about next weekend? I'm sure the weather will be fine then," he finished confidently.

"Au contraire friends, the weather will be gorgeous. I heard so from a source more reliable than the weatherman." Hunters happen to have spectacular instincts about this kind of thing. I happen to know that on the weekend Mike wanted to go, it would be frigid and the sun would shine sparingly.

I smiled winningly. "In fact…" I paused and cocked my head to the ceiling. The thudding of rain was clear as daylight. "The snow has stopped already. A good omen if I've ever seen one."

Lauren looked incredulous. "Stopped? I doubt it. I know this might be a little confusing for you; it doesn't snow much in Arizona…" The girls on either side of her tittered with laughter.

I grinned wickedly. "Then how about a little wager?" I asked, leaning in. "If I'm wrong about the snow," I shrugged carelessly – I knew I was right. "Then we go to La Push next weekend and I never try to predict the weather again.

"But if I'm right," I grinned leaning in. "If I'm right then we go this weekend and _you, _Lauren dear, get to go skinny dipping."

Lauren's grin was even more wicked then mine. "Okay. But if you lose, you streak down the beach."

"Best bet I've ever made." I said and struck out my hand and she shook it. "And you all are witnesses!" I pointed around the table, which was dangerously quiet this whole time, and made mock eye-on-you motions that made everyone laugh.

As we finished and got up, I noticed that the coven was still seated. What was keeping them here? They usually left before our crowd did. I felt uncomfortable leaving the cafeteria folk alone with them, but it'd be too conspicuous if I backtracked now. Especially when…

Lauren's outraged shriek was loud enough to make us all flinch. The snow had not only stopped, but was being flushed away by the drizzle. Then the wolf whistles and cat calls from our group started in earnest. A blotchy blush flushed Lauren's cheeks and I couldn't help but saunter up to her, lean in, and whisper, "Maybe a last minute waxing appointment?"

I flashed a smile and walked to Bio, laughing with Angela all the way.

I sat down in my seat and took out my supplies as Mike sat on the edge of the table, as he's grown accustomed to doing. Though I started randomly doodling as Mike's chatter filled the air, I was intensely aware of every square inch of the room. So I didn't really need the extra sound of Bronze's chair scraping back to alert me to his arrival – I knew it the second I stepped through the threshold.

But apparently Mike did. He stuttered in his monologue – something about how depressing it was that the now had stopped, but how funny La Push was going to be – when Edward seated himself beside me.

"Hello," he murmured in a voice that was smooth as spun silk. I looked at him dubiously, but not because of his voice; I've had more than enough experience with that. I just couldn't quite believe he was going to sit there like he hadn't tried to not kill me last week. With Mike here, no less.

"I'm Edward Cullen. I didn't get a chance to introduce myself next week…" he went on. Mike was gaping at Bronze like he wasn't quite aware he was capable of speech. I caught his eye and gave a tiny eye roll.

"I'll see you after class Mike." Mike grinned and scooted off to his seat. Bronze had fallen silent at our exchange and was now watching me. A gave a small smile and stuck out a hand.

"Hi, I'm Bella, and it's rude to stare," I said cheerily. He glanced at my hand and hesitantly grasped it. I feigned surprise at his low temperature and made a joke about it that I wasn't completely sure he heard. I knew he hadn't heard my rib about staring because his gaze was as persistent as ever.

I turned to the front of the class just as the bell rang and silently scolded myself. I should be invisible to these vampires, an ordinary human among other ordinary humans. But here I was, very much visible, as his stare reminded me. _Although_, I thought grimly, _I doubt anything I do now could change my visibility factor. Nothing I could scream would be louder than being a siren. _

"Ladies first, partner?" Bronze asked me. I snapped my head to him and with a quick look realized the class was starting on a lab. Mitosis. I gave an internal eye roll at this – I could tell what each slide was without the microscope, but that would obviously raise some questions – but nodded to his question and pulled the microscope toward myself. He'd already loaded the slide and it took but a second to determine what it was.

"Prophase," I murmured as I wrote it down on the worksheet.

I was moving to get the next slide loaded when he asked, "Do you mind if I…?" He motioned toward the microscope. With a raised eyebrow, I gestured for him to go on.

I don't know if it was just my competitive edge coming out, but I could've sworn he was a tad disappointed I was right.

"Prophase," he agreed. I gazed at this time as he worked. I decided that Bronze coming back was a good thing. Since he couldn't read my mind, I would have to convince him and his coven that I was a threat. If they were suspicious of me I would never get close enough to get them all.

A click from the microscope brought me out of my musings. He was examining the next slide and writing down the answer as if I wasn't even there.

"Anaphase," he murmured to himself. I felt a prickle of irritation.

Before he could move on, I flashed the cheeriest, most bogus smile I could muster and asked, "May I?"

He gave me a smug look but surrendered the microscope in favor of watching me. I felt a chill creep up my back. God, he was creepy. I glanced at his answer and cursed silently. He was right.

Not looking up, I held out my hand for the slide, beckoning impatiently with my fingers. I felt the slide drop into my palm and this time I quickly glanced at it before, saw it was interphase, then put it under the objective. I didn't even really look into the microscope before declaring it interphase.

I slid it over to him before he could ask and I could feel the satisfaction on my face as he realized I was right again.

We finished in that fashion, I actually caught myself smiling once, and long before anyone else was done. The tension came back again and soon we were in a silent stare down. It was when I glanced at his eyes that something clicked in my head.

"Your eyes…" I whispered. They weren't red, as per usual in vampires. They were instead a rich, tawny gold, like honey set in sunlight. I peered closer to see if he had contacts on, but there was nothing I could detect. Even more curious, I distinctly remember his eyes were not this light last Monday. _How?_

"Yes…?" he asked, puzzled at the way I dropped off my sentence.

I cleared my throat. "They're a very unusual color. Pretty. Are they contacts?" I smiled as if it was just an idle question.

"Yes. They're natural." He was looking at me now more curious, if that was possible.

"Ah, so then last week you were wearing contacts," I said confidently and turned back to the front of class. I didn't explain myself but watched him from the corner of my eye, waiting for a reaction.

His voice was calm however: "Last Monday? Yes, I was. I don't like glasses much and my sister, Alice, likes to…play around," he sighed. "She ordered colored lenses behind my back," he lied smoothly, flashing a crooked grin my way.

I grinned back. "She sounds fun."

"Don't let her hear you say that," he grumbled. "Her head is big enough as it is,"

Mr. Banner – who was walking around at all the wrong moments, seeing as he hadn't caught sight of the four or so books open underneath desks – chose that moment to stop at our table. He saw we were done then took the sheet to look at the answers.

"So, Edward, didn't you think Isabella should get a chance with the microscope?" Mr. Banner asked.

"Actually – " I started, but Bronze got there before me.

"Bella actually identified three of the five." I threw a glare at him. I could speak for myself.

Mr. Banner looked appraisingly at me now. "Did you do this lab before?"

I pretended to look abashed. "I've kinda taken the whole course before. At a local college." I looked up sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to cause any trouble, I saw there were no other science classes available and I need a science credit to graduate…" I trialed off and stared at the table.

"Well, you're welcome to stay if that's the case," Mr. Banner said, not unkindly.

I looked up with gratitude on my face, though I knew how he'd respond all the while. "Really? Thanks Mr. Banner!" He nodded and continued on his rounds, mumbling something about how it's good we were lab partners. I chuckled darkly at the irony of that.

There was still fifteen minutes until the end of class and I could feel those minutes in the patience of his stare.

"So Bella," he began. _And cue the awkward conversation. _"How do you like Forks?"

It's like he wasn't even trying. I've been asked that question at least seven times and all from people over fifty. But then again, he would fit in that category…

"Bella?" His voice snapped me back to reality. He was waiting for an answer.

"Great. Awesome. Epic. What's not to like?" I asked, sarcasm evident. That, at least, wasn't an act.

"The lushly stocked library? The grand total of fifteen channels on TV?" I was really ranting now on all the little irritations, and it felt good.

"The bountiful number of restaurants and eateries in the area? _Why_ on _earth_ would _anyone_ leave?" Sarcasm dripped from my word and I was scowling by the time I was done.

Bronze, however, was fighting to hold back a grin. His eyes gleamed with laughter. "Why indeed?" he wondered.

I sighed deeply and rolled back my shoulders. "I'm sorry. That was disrespectful. Forks isn't bad, it's just…different," I settled.

"If Forks is so…contrary to you, why did you come?" He was serious now and that made me suspicious.

"Well…" I started, and forced myself to blush. "Back in Phoenix something happened that was really embarrassing that I _really_ don't want to go into right now," I finished in a rush, peeking up at him shyly.

He looked down at me with kind eyes. _God, he is so easy._ "We don't have to," he said simply. He held my gaze intensely and I pretended to dither and blush until I finally said:

"Well, okay. I trust you. But promise," I said seriously, my face becoming grave. "That you will not so much as _breathe_ this to another soul. Understood?"

"Clear as crystal," he agreed solemnly.

"Okay," I said and let out a giddy breath. I turned my chair towards him a bit. The more I keep him absorbed in lies, the longer he's distracted from killing people.

"So back at my last school at Phoenix, there was this boy. The most amazing, most popular boy in school. Richest, too." I started bitterly. Instantly I saw I had him hooked, but there was something weird in his expression. Maybe he was still hungry. I hurried to tell my story quicker.

"And for some reason, some wild, unfathomable reason, he decided to ask me to homecoming. He was so sweet, so sincere. He wanted to hang out with me as much as he could before the dance, so we did.

"Before I knew it, it was the night of the dance. Not too long after we got there, he said we should go somewhere more private and handed me a drink. I was on such a buzz, I didn't even question it. But then we got into the room and there were already people there. I got really dizzy just then, told him we should go since this room was taken. He just laughed and threw me down on the gym mats."

I kept quiet for a second, staring at the table top, letting a few fake tears drop on its surface before wiping them away.

"I don't remember a whole lot after that. I tried to confront him next Monday, but he already had his tongue down another girl's throat. He and his friends just laughed me out of the school. I tried the police, but they did the same; Shawn's dad was the most powerful guy in town and he did the police department all kinds of favors. The next day, I attacked Shawn with a pencil and got expelled. And now here I am."

I laughed shakily and wrapped my arms around my torso. I looked up for the first time at Bronze's face. I almost gasped at it; there was genuine pain there. Concern and sympathy and horror just radiated out from him, and for a fraction of a second, I felt guilty at my lies. But then I realized that no _way _was he going to think me a threat after this and thought it for the greater good of the mission.

"I am so _so_ sorry, Bella." I knew that he really meant it and that was just bizarre. The pain was fading from his face but something else was replacing it. Was it…? Yes. Anger. And a lot of it.

"Why did you say that was embarrassing? None of that was your fault, Bella."

"Yeah, well," I hiccupped. "It's easier to say that then to cry." I tried for a watery smile, then scrubbed my face and laid my head on my arms, the picture of sadness.

With that, the bell rang. After he flung me one more glance, he bolted. I guess the smell was too much for him after all.

As soon as he was out of view I stopped the hissy fit and greeted Mike. When he asked me why I'd been crying, I told him I got a splinter underneath my nail. I couldn't help cracking up at that.


	6. Chapter 6

_"Your worst battle is between what you know and what you feel." – Unknown_

Tuesday brought ice. As I looked out my window, I could see that yesterday's snow had refrozen, transforming every surface into crystalline wonder. My heart lurched. But beautiful as it was, I knew that Charlie might be busy with all the extra danger the ice would inflict on the roads.

Once I had changed and came downstairs I saw that Charlie had already left. Maybe he had predicted what I had.

I hurried when gearing up, wanting more time to get to school. As I stepped on to the ice, I skated on the surface to my car because I knew I was running late. Surprisingly, pulling out of the driveway was a breeze – the whole way to school in fact, was suspiciously easy. By the time I pulled into the school parking lot, I was early. I walked to my trunk to inspect my tires, only to find snow chains covering all of them.

For a moment, my breath caught. That Charlie would have thought to do that, just to make my day easier – well, it was enough to make me pause while I forced the tears back into my eyes.

And of course that was the moment Tyler's van chose to try to kill me.

A painful squeal of tires made my snap my head up and the barreling van immediately caught my attention. I could see that he had hit the ice wrong and his bulky car was speeding straight at me with familiarly uncanny accuracy. I had about two seconds to react.

I Surged.

Alice's one thought rang clear throughout her tiny, now frozen figure. _NO!_ I rifled through her thoughts, sucking in a breath when I saw what had caused her reaction. It echoed in her head as what she envisioned replayed with awful inevitability.

In a fraction of a second, Alice's prophecy unfolded before my eyes. A second ago she was safe, standing by the back of her car, her silence as solid and frustrating as ever. In another, Tyler Crowley - was there ever a name so vile, so _disgusting?_ - and his van were careening straight at her fragile form.

As fast as the van was, however, I was faster, and barely a second after Alice's thought I was bolting across the parking lot. But suddenly, the girl's eyes locked onto mine, when no human eyes should have been able to follow me at the speed I was moving. She scowled at me, as if my rushing to save her was somehow inconvenient.

And then she preceded to, with the speed and grace level with a vampire, back-flip over the top of Tyler's van. The hood of the car seemed to materialize beneath her hands and she landed lithely on the other side of her car with hardly a sound. The sight of it almost made me stand still with shock.

But my body continued to propel towards her, barely making the distance before the two cars crashed together. I crouched beside her, wondering if I was hallucinating. I decided not. If I was hallucinating, I don't think I would imagine her scowling at me as hard as she was then.

"What the hell are you doing, vampire?" she whispered, venom in every word. The last one jolted me into utter stillness. She herself seemed chagrined at her words. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to address this development as Tyler's van had curved around her car's trunk, about to crash into her again.

Cursing colorfully, Bella shoved her shoulder against the van, but steadied it with her hands so that it didn't tip over. After the van settled on its wheels she turned to glare at me warily, probably noticing how close we were forced together after the van's last attack. I, however, crouched there, not quite dumbstruck – I had a tiny suspicion as to what was going on – but not really believing it either.

After all, here I was, running the risk of exposure to save the girl I so badly wanted to kill, when it turns out she needed no help from me at all. Was she a vampire? After a second, I dismissed the idea. The way she called me a vampire didn't suggest she was especially fond of – or belong to the race of – vampires. Plus, a vampire can't be a siren to another vampire.

I mulled over the topic, now more than a bit wary myself, as the school officials rushed to the scene, called the paramedics, and tried to move the van as best they could. It was a sad effort to watch. The whole time, Bella didn't take her eyes off of me and I clearly saw through them what I couldn't read in her mind; distrust, wariness, confusion, and…curiosity? Yes, that was there too.

The puzzle of her mind absorbed me until the school's more bulky males had shifted the van far enough for the paramedics to ram the stretchers in. Immediately, I quipped that Bella had hit her head hard on the ice, though I know she had done no such thing. I needed an excuse to see Carlisle at the hospital and I wanted her in the vicinity. She threw me a scathing look as she was forced onto the stretcher. I felt a bit guilty, though I knew I hadn't I reason to. It's what had to be done, to keep my family safe. Without really thinking, I sat in the front of the first response vehicle that housed Bella.

_What are you doing?_ I thought, alarmed by my actions. Though the girl knew our secret – without a shadow of a doubt, it looked like – and was probably some supernatural being, what I felt more than anything else was worry for her safety. I didn't even understand the emotion, seeing as she could take full sized vans without the slightest hesitation.

_There's something wrong with me,_ I thought bleakly. I have to see Carlisle.

The county hospital wasn't far away, and soon enough I was walking through the doors, flicking through minds to find Carlisle. I also kept tabs on where Bella was in the building, wanting to know exactly where she was at all times. I tried to convince myself that it was for the sake of my family.

Shortly thereafter, I burst into Carlisle's office, slightly wild-eyed. He immediately stood up.

_Son,_ he soothed with his mind. _What has happened?_ He asked it as a question, but I could that his thoughts immediately turned toward the worst. Again I felt the inevitability, the horrid feeling that something was going to kill the girl - it was just a matter of what and when. I flinched away from his unasked questions, focusing on the one that he had actually asked.

"The girl was in a car crash," I blurted. Carlisle backtracked, confusion in his eyes. "What?" This time he spoke aloud.

"In the school parking lot," I continued. "The van was going to hit her, Carlisle. Alice envisioned it and there was just enough time to run across the lot and move her out of the way but…" I trailed off, wondering how I was going to explain the twisted turn of events.

"It's okay, son," he eased, hand on my shoulder. "You aren't responsible for what happened to the girl. I'm proud that you tried to save her." He paused and I could see a question in his head. _You know I hate to ask this, but did you expose yourself?_ His thoughts were hesitant; he didn't want me to think he didn't trust me.

"Dad," I said quickly, trying to dispel the misunderstanding. "She's still alive. Completely fine, actually."

Carlisle looked even more confused. Finally he just shook his head. "Tell me from the beginning," he said sitting on the edge of his desk.

"It's as I said before. The van was going to hit the girl. I rushed over to push her out of the way – I just couldn't let it crush her, Carlisle. Nobody saw me, except her."

By the time I was done Carlisle was beaming. "I'm proud of you, Edward. You saved a life. And not to mention…" he stopped eventually, taking in my expression. "What's wrong?"

I shook my head slowly. "I didn't save her Carlisle. She saw me. Saw me as I was running. And as I was halfway there, she just…got herself out of the way. Flipped over the top of the van, in fact. I still ended up standing next to her – I think I was in too much shock to stop moving."

I looked up at Carlisle's troubled expression. "Carlisle," I began, "she called me a vampire." As that sunk in, Carlisle's face turned dark.

"Well then," he sighed. "That settles it. We have to leave. Now." He moved as if to start towards the door. I caught his arm before he could.

"I'm not sure we can do that. There was something...familiar, about the way that she moved." I paused, slightly apprehensive about my suspicions. I didn't want to cause unnecessary worry, but I knew Carlisle needed to hear this.

"I recognized the way she moved from a memory of Peter's. I think she's a vampire hunter." If Carlisle looked troubled before, he looked downright disturbed now. I rushed on. "On one of Peter's visits, not two years ago, he mentioned that there was a vampire hunter subduing a lot of important vampires down south. She was apparently immune to all mental gifts, mind reading included. The way she moved herself in the parking lot was identical to the Peter's memory."

Carlisle sunk into an open chair, the picture of worry. "And if she's a vampire hunter, she will be able to track us," he concluded my theory. After a long silence, Carlisle said what I feared most.

"The others will want to…take action," Carlisle said each word unwillingly and with extreme sorrow; he hated the loss of any life. "But we will think of every possible route before that," he assured me.

Immediately, I recoiled at the idea, not wanting to contemplate that option. I compelled myself to do so anyway, for the sake of my family. "With Alice, I think we might be able to lead her away from Forks and then turn around to ambush her," I forced myself to reply, but on the inside, I felt disgusting. After all the effort and anguish I put into resisting her, I was going to turn into a monster anyway.

Carlisle nodded and stood again. "We'll consider that option if we have to. First, let's try a more diplomatic solution." He paused. "Do I have _any _patients today? Is she even in the hospital?"

I nodded. "I knew you'd want to at least see her, so I told the paramedics she hit her head," I informed him as we started down the hallway. "The driver of the van, Tyler Crowley, was injured superficially, but I assume you want to see him too?"

He nodded, but looked thoughtful. "We know she values anonymity; she attends high school and seems to want to appear a normal student. Her intent was probably to observe the four of you without attracting notice." He smiled wryly. "But with how her blood smells to you and how you can't read her mind, I doubt she ever attained her invisibility."

I smiled painfully in return.

"We can take her aside and speak with her, ask her of her motives, and see if we can't coexist. If we could work with the Quileutes, I think we can come to some kind of agreement," Carlisle said firmly as we reached the x-ray room.

"I'm going to go into her room," I found myself saying. "Act as if nothing's happened. If we have the possibility of there being no bloodshed, we should keep up appearances."

Carlisle nodded. "Good idea. I'll be with you momentarily."

I continued down the hallway to her room and with each step my mind was buzzing. What was I doing? Forget about the girl, I wasn't completely sure what _my _motives were anymore. Did I say that to help my family? Or to indulge this self-destructive infatuation with the Swan girl?

Either way, my feet kept moving towards the room where I knew she would be. But as I walked, I was starting to realize it didn't matter what my motives were – the more pressing question seemed to be which one of us would kill each other first.


	7. Chapter 7

"_He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot will be victorious.__" – Sun Tzu_

I had to get out of this hospital.

Not only did I just hate hospitals in general, but if I let them examine me right now…that would be bad. Very bad.

After that rat bastard of a vampire had sold me out to the paramedics and I got strapped down on a gurney – and _he _got to ride in the front seat! – I had tried to come down from my Surge, but it wasn't working for some reason. I was still unnaturally fast and my reflexes were all too sharp. If they had checked my eyes, they would've found them fully dilated. Had they checked my heartbeat, it would've been fifteen times the fastest person's resting heart rate. I could usually come down from a Surge just fine, but I guess there was just too much excitement in the past few minutes to properly calm down.

Or, more accurately, too much failure. I silently groaned again, wanting to beat myself against a wall. _How_ could I have blown my cover like that? Getting out of the way of the van and revealing my speed was an inevitable sacrifice – I can't kill vampires if I'm mushed across Tyler's van. But to tell him that I knew he was a vampire – ugh! How could I be so stupid? Now that I don't have the element of surprise, I'll have to act fast. I knew that the coven would be thinking along the same lines and that I couldn't let my guard down for even a fraction of a moment.

In my peripheral vision I saw a nurse looking at me confusedly, probably wondering why I hadn't had my blood pressure/weight/general health checked yet. Currently, I was sitting on a bed next to Tyler who, it seemed, had ended up with the short end of the stick. He had cuts all up and down his body, but he kept a running apology of what happened. I was tuning him out. But I had only barely managed to…convince the paramedics not to do anything that would give away my recent Surge. _Okay, breathe Bella. Get your heart rate down. _After a second of thought, Symphony No. 8, B minor seemed right for the circumstances. _Help me out here Schubert, _I thought.

I'd done this exercise a lot when I couldn't get the hang of Surging before and I needed help calming down. For some reason, Franz – this symphony especially – always got me through it. The whimsical, mysteriousness the of the slow building tension that burst into a crescendo only to slowly calmed back down always had a soothing effect on me. I used to coordinate this symphony to the clenching and unclenching of my muscles and that usually did the trick to settle me after a hard Surge. It worked now. I could feel my heart slowing down, the humming in my muscles fading out.

I looked up at the nurse and gave her a smile; she returned it and came over to do the basics. I nearly made her drop her flashlight as she was checking my eyes when I violently flinched. Bronze had waltzed into the room, casual as you please. He scanned the room and his eyes landed on me. I had half a second to decide how to react to him. I decided that if he was going to act casual, then so would I; he and his coven probably thought to kill me quietly and go back to their odd life. I had similar intentions.

"Hey, Edward," I greeted him with a half wave. There was something weird in his expression and I decided that I needed him out of this room, out of this hospital, preferably. Tyler had stopped mumbling apologies and began paying attention to our conversation.

"What're you doing here? I thought you were fine," I said cheerily, but there was an edge to my voice. "Or maybe I'm wrong," I chuckled. "I hit my head, you know."

Bronze smiled guiltilessly. "I know. I was there, remember? It looked pretty bad. Do you feel okay?" He lied convincingly, concern coloring his tone. He sounded genuinely worried.

"Don't know yet," I replied. "The good doctor hasn't shown up yet. Plus, Tyler's condition might be a tad more urgent than mine," I joked. Tyler smiled feebly and I grinned back guiltily. I felt bad about Tyler's injuries. It wasn't his fault my tragic bad luck chose his van as a vessel. He opened his mouth as if to speak – or more likely, about to apologize – but I cut him off.

"Tyler, don't," I stopped him. "I'm fine, thanks to Edward." I flashed a very Bronze confused a smile. "If he didn't pull me away…" I shook my head. Now Tyler was looking confused.

"I was wondering how he got over there," he started slowly. "I never saw him…but it happened pretty fast, huh? Wow! That was pretty awesome, Edward." I smiled slightly. It seemed Tyler had convinced himself. It was the most plausible explanation to the situation, but it was still a stretch.

"Isn't he?" I agreed, turning to Bronze. I allowed myself a small smirk. _Serves him right, the lying, conniving, undead…_

"Well, I can't take all the credit," Bronze smiled at me. "Tyler's van wasn't too hard to dodge; it didn't seem in the best condition. How is your car? I'm not sure it made it through the encounter with Bella's truck."

"Nope," Tyler winced. "It's totaled. I swear your car is made of titanium," he shook his head at me.

I laughed. "Hardly. It's just old. They don't make 'em like that anymore."

"Shouldn't it have, like, the car version of osteoporosis?" Tyler joked.

"Excuse me?" I sniffed at him. "These youngsters nowadays," I said as if to myself. "They just have no respect, hitting people with their vans and then insulting others' obviously superior cars."

Tyler looked stricken at the 'hit people with their cars' rib. He opened his mouth.

"Tyler," I put my hands up as if to physically stop his words. "It was a joke." I said cautiously. "So laugh a little."

"Anyway," I moved on. "Tyler is probably going to get checked out first." I hoped. He really didn't look good. I turned to Bronze and his face was even weirder than before. I couldn't place the emotion on his face and it was unnerving. I needed him out.

"Bro – I mean Edward," I said swinging my legs over the bed. "Can I talk to you for a second? Outside?" Bronze looked wary and was about to respond, in the negative I'd bet, but my nurse looked up.

"Oh, Doctor Cullen actually wants to see you first. He doesn't think it'll take long," she smiled. I sat back down. Okay, this I wanted to see. Since the start I've wondered how the leader could stand being in a hospital and not expose himself. _Maybe he does it for the blood supply…? _I guessed, but I knew it wouldn't fit; there's still problem of control. I just couldn't wrap my mind around it.

The door opened just then and Dr. Cullen – Carlisle, if I remember right – walked in. And wow. The nurse, who was putting away some of her equipment, almost dropped a syringe. I couldn't blame her. I'd seen a lot of vampires in my day, all of them beautiful. It's not like Carlisle was especially so, but it was just that…he wasn't. Like a vampire, I mean. Most vampires were charismatic and somehow alien, like human sociopaths times ten. Humans were hardwired to naturally avoid them. But Carlisle just radiated this calm, comforting feeling, like everything would be just fine; he just drew you in. The fact that I wasn't suspicious of him instantly made me so.

"Bella," he greeted me, grabbing my chart and flipping through it. "How do you feel?"

"Like I could drive myself home." He smiled.

"We'll see," he put my x-rays up to the light and did a double take at all the healed bones. He looked at me questioningly.

I shrugged. "I fall down a lot."

"Perhaps you should invest in some knee pads," he smiled. I couldn't help smiling back. It was weird. For blood sucking pariahs, these vampires sure knew how to blend in.

"I'll look into it, Doc," I promised with mock solemnity. Doc came over and began feeling around the base of my head, checking for lumps that weren't there. When he came up clean, I looked at him expectantly.

"So can I get my keys?" I asked.

He chuckled. "Sure thing," he said as he signed off on my chart. "Though I suppose you'll have to make it through the welcome party…"

My face dropped. "The what?" _God, how completely could I blow my cover today?_

"About the entire school is in the lobby waiting to hear the good news." He replied. When he glanced at my face he asked, "Unless you want to stay…?"

I took a second. "Nope," I said grabbing my keys from the bedside table. "Thanks, Doc."

He smiled that reassuring smile and I had to wonder if he wasn't the one that controlled one's emotions. "Anytime." He went to speak with Tyler, turning his back to me.

I shook my head to myself and moved toward the door to find that Bronze was walking with me, matching my pace step for step.

"Whatcha need, Edward?" I asked casually while we were in the room. But the second we stepped over the threshold, I swept the area for witnesses and, seeing none, whipped out one of my vampire teeth-smelted knives and kept a healthy distance between us.

Bronze put his hands up as if to say, if I can be civilized, why can't you? I scowled.

"I just wanted to speak with you," he said carefully. He looked pointedly at the knife.

"So speak," I urged, my blade not wavering an inch.

"Bella," he began. My eye twitched. What Bella was I to him?

"I don't know why you're here or what you hope to achieve, but my family and I mean you no harm. We can co-exist peacefully, if you'd give us the chance."

"That sounds beautifully rehearsed," I complemented him. "But I know vampires. You don't _do_ peace." I glanced around. Bronze was probably trying to distract me, stalling for time until the others got here.

"I don't know how he does it, your leader. It's a remarkable trick, I'll give you that. But don't think you've fooled me, vampire. You've wanted me dead since day one." I fanned out my hair with my free hand, taunting him into making his olive branch transform into the lies that they were. He stiffened.

The sound of wheels squeaking down the hallway made me freeze just as stilly. In a fraction of a second, I threw myself at him, pressing my body into his. I slid the dagger under his chin and my hand wound itself into the back of his hair, locking his head in place. If he was stiff before, he was a like a cold, hard turkey out to thaw before thanksgiving now. I could feel him forcing back the venom in his mouth and struggling underneath my grip.

I moved my head to his ear so my hair could cover the knife and clicked my tongue. "Control, control. I thought you were peaceful?" I whispered.

The nurse with the cart moved walked by and I heard her mutter about inappropriate teenagers when she saw us. After she walked past, I checked on Bronze to see how he was doing. I wasn't too concerned – Hunters had a relative immunity to vampire venom, but the left scars and I didn't need a permanent hickey mark.

Bronze was surprisingly calm. He didn't have that hungry look most vamps did when they were about to go rabid. His body was fairly relaxed and he just watched me with this really tranquil expression. It caught me off guard and I found myself looking back, trying to see what his game was.

We stayed like that for a long moment before he said in a very convincing voice, "Not to sound cliché, but we really do come in peace."

I chewed on that for a second before moving away slightly and asking what's been bothering me for the past few weeks. "Why do the Quileutes trust you?"

"Trust isn't the word I would use, but we have an understanding," he explained. "We don't enter their territory and they leave us alone."

"And they're fine with you all butchering the townsfolk a mile down the road?" I scoffed.

"No," Bronze said, revolted. "They view themselves protectors of this land. The only real reason they tolerate us is because we don't drink human blood. We hunt animals."

I snorted. "Yeah, like I haven't heard that one before." I put more pressure on my knife. Now I knew he was lying to me…

He scowled at me. "Decapitate me if you must, but that won't make what I say any less true. Carlisle's 'trick' isn't a trick at all. He's just had a lot of time to practice control and helping people is worth it to him."

The blunt disbelief was clear on my face. He set his face stubbornly. "Fine," he scowled.

Moving very slowly, he moved my knife hand away from his throat and took my hand.

"I'll show you. Come on."


End file.
